Resources: authority

Randy quotes Dallas Willard who says that we were created to govern the earth and were therefore made in the divine likeness of God. Randy further clarifies that the statement found in Genesis 1 that we were created in the divine image is in the immediate context of our God given job to rule the earth. This video clip was excerpted from Randy's Eternity 101 DVD class, available at http://www.epm.org/store/product/eternity-101/.

Randy quotes several verses showing that in Heaven God will give authority as a reward. And though we will lay our crowns before God like the elders do in Revelation 4:10, this does not mean we will walk away from our positions of leadership as given by God. Rather, the image of laying our crowns before Him demonstrates that our positions of leadership will be dedicated to God. This video clip was excerpted from Randy's Eternity 101 DVD class, available at http://www.epm.org/store/product/eternity-101/.

Because of our experiences with hierarchy in this world, the idea of having someone over us and someone under us inherently carries a negative connotation. But Randy explains that because God is absolutely good, hierarchy in God's kingdom will not have the negative aspects we experience in this fallen world. All will have some area of responsibility, will be under the authority of someone and possibly have authority over others. This video clip was excerpted from Randy's Eternity 101 DVD class, available at http://www.epm.org/store/product/eternity-101/.

A few months ago, our staff ran across this blog post written by a marketing manager for a Christian bookstore. Although he specifically mentions Randy’s book Heaven, the issue his post brings up certainly isn’t limited to Randy’s books or even just the subject of eternity. Blogger Derek Ouellette writes:

Some say there is no authority structure or hierarchy within the Trinity, even though there are numerous scriptures where Jesus submitted to His Father (see John 5:19, 13:16, 14:12, Hebrews 5:8) but not one single passage that depicts the Father in submission to the Son or the Spirit.